Terminal connector



March 21, 1961 H. l. STANBACK ETAL 2,976,514

TERMINAL CONNECTOR Filed June 4, 1956 INVENTO 5' .Z' Sfavycg 48f b, [277; a

United States TERMINAL CONNECTOR Harris I. Stanback and Ralph H Kingdon, Birmingham, Mich, assignors to Square D Company, Detroit, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Filed June 4, 1956, Ser. No. 589,088

8 Claims. (Cl. 339-272) This invention relates to connectors and more particularly to a continuous strip neutral connector as is generally employed with pane lboards for the distribution of electrical energy.

The object of the present invention is the provision of a terminal connector adapted to receive a circuit condoctor in a manner so as to prevent damage to the conductor which may cause physical separation of the conductor.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a terminal connector provided with a clamping screw and having stop means for the clamping screw and displacement areas for a circuit conductor connected to the terminal.

A further object of the present invention is a formed neutral connector having a preformed indentation into which a connected conductor may be displaced when attached to the connector.

Another object of the present invention is a simple and economically manufactured terminal connector and method of formation thereof.

Another object of the present invention is a terminal connector provided with means for effecting good electrical connection of a conductor to the connector with the provision of means for preventing damage to the conductor which may cause physical separation of the conductor.

Further objects and features of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the specification and appended drawings illustrating a certain preferred embodiment in which:

Figure 1 is a front plan View of the terminal connector of the present invention showing the conductor connection areas and the conductor securing screws.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along the lines Illl of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a partial sectional view taken along the lines of III-III of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the lines of IV-lV of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a partial sectional view taken along the lines VV of Figure 4.

Terminal connectors of the general type illustrated in the drawings of this specification are used in panelboards for neutral connections for the conductors associated with the various load devices energized through the panelboard. In the conventional low voltage distribution panelboard, the conductors employed are or" a reasonably small circular mill cross-sectional area and are formed of a conducting material which may be sub stantially readily cut or broken. Various standards and codes applicable to the distribution of electrical energy establish requirements for the torque pressure which the connector and attached conductor must withstand in application to the terminal screws of the connector and the resistance to pullout which the connector must withstand against a force applied directly between the conductor 2,9?6,514- Patented Mar. 21, 1961 "ice and the connector to which it is attached. It has been found with respect to previous terminal connector designs that when a prescribed force has been applied to the clamping screw of the connector, the conductor will be so mutilated as to fail in the pullout test of the codes. The terminal connector of the present invention is adapted to eliminate this problem by providing adequate displacement space for the conductor attached to the connector, so that when small size connectors are employed and attached to the connector, the attachment screw may be tightened against a stop and the conductor will be displaced, and perhaps deformed, but not so radically deformed as to alfect the uniformity of the conductor so as to cause failure in a pullout test.

The connector 1 of the present invention constitutes a member formed of conducting material and having parallel legs 2 and 3 and a hollow loop 4 sustained thereby with the loop having parallel sides 5 and 5 and a top portion 7. The loop is provided with aligned holes 8 and 9 in the parallel sides 5 and 6, respectively, providing a pass-through area for an electrical conductor. A threaded hole 10 adapted to receive a clamping screw 11 is provided at the end of the loop opposite to the top portion 7 and along the inner portions of the parallel sides 5 and 6 of the connector formation. The legs 2 and 3 of the body of the connector are securely fixed together by a plurality of rivets 12 and mounting holes 14 are provided in suitable numbers and locations to permit mounting of the connector in association with a device for the distribution of electrical energy. The top portion 7 of the connector is formed with a displaced portion forming a recess 13 in alignment with the holes 8 and 9 through the opposite sides 5 and 6, respectively, for the purpose which will be more fully explained hereinafter.

One method of formation of the terminal connector of the present invention constitutes the initial blanking from strip or sheet stock of suflicient length of material to form the terminal connector. The stock is then pierced to form the pass-through holes 8 and 9 and the hole It which is to be threaded for the clamping screw 11. At the same time, the holes may be formed for the ac commodation of the mounting rivets l2 and for the mounting holes 14 of Figure l. The blank for the terminal connector is at this time formed with the indentation 13 adjacent to the hole later to be formed into the pass-through hole 9. The connector blank is then formed in suitable forming tools into the configuration of the cross section shown in Figures 2 and 4, in which the holes for the clamping rivet 12 and the pass-through holes 8 and 9 are aligned. When thus formed, the indentation 13 is formed in the initial blanking operations will become aligned with the pass-through holes 8 and 9 so as to provide displacement space for a conductor attached to the connector. When the connector has been formed and the legs 2 and 3 securely fixed together, the preformed hole 10 for accommodation of the clamping screw 11 is tapped to provide threaded areas for the accommodation of the screw, both in the hole and along the inner surfaces of the parallel sides 5 and 6.

In Figures 4 and 5 in enlarged showingsis illustrated the accommodation of a conductor Within the connector with the clamping screw in a securing position. The conductor passes through the connector and is pressed against the bottom areas of the aligned cutouts 8 and 9 and against the recessed indentation 13 at the base ofthe loop portion of the connector. The attachment screw 11 is stopped against the top portion 7 of the loop 4 and the conductor is deformed into the recessed area provided by the indentation 13 at that portion of the connector. As shown in Figure 5, in the area of the 3 indentation in the top portion 7 of the connector, the conductor is partially deformed to the contour of the indentation 13 to the extent that good electrical contact is established between the connector and the conductor without complete severing of the conductor by the attachment screw 11.

Conductors of the size as illustrated in the left hand portion of Figure 1, when connected to the terminal connector of this invention, do not present a problem of the nature encountered with the smaller conductors. With the larger conductor, the clamping screw cannot be tightened to the extent that the conductor could be seriously deformed or at least deformed to theextent that it may be fractured. With the smaller size conductors, as for instance number 12 or 14 size wire, the problem of fracturing of the conductor becomes important and the connector of the present invention is designed to prevent destruction of the conductors when used with a neutral connector.

While certain preferred embodiments of the invention have been specifically disclosed, it is understood that the invention is not limited thereto, but has many variations which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and the invention is to be given its broadest interpretation within the terms of the following claims:

What is claimed is:

l. A terminal connector comprising a housing having spaced-apart top and bottom walls and at least one side wall extending therebetween, said side wall being provided with at least one conductor-receiving opening closely adjacent said top wall, said bottom wall being provided with at least one threaded opening which is vertically aligned with the axis of said conductor-receiving opening, and said top wall being provided with a downwardlyopening recess which extends transversely of said housing and is aligned with and intersects said conductor-receiving opening, and a threaded member received in said threaded opening and adapted to be advanced against said top wall whereby compression of a conductor received in said recess is limited by engagement of said threaded member with said top wall adjacent said recess, said recess being narrower than the diarneterof said threaded member.

2. A terminal connector comprising a housing having spaced-apart, longitudinally-extending top and bottom walls and at least one side wall extending therebetween, said side wall being provided with a plurality of longitudinally-spaced, conductor-receiving openings closely adjacent said top wall, said bottom wall being provided with a plurality of longitudinally-spaced, threaded openings, each of said threaded openings being vertically aligned with the axis of one of said conductor-receiving openings, and said top wall being provided with downwardly-opening recesses which extend transversely of said housing, each of said recesses being aligned with and intersecting one of said conductor-receiving openings, and threaded members received in said threaded openings, respectively, and adapted to be advanced against said top wall whereby compression of conductors re- 7 ceived'in said recesses, respectively, is limited by engagement of the said respective threaded members with said top wall adjacent said recesses, each of said recesses being narrower than the diameter of its respective threaded member.

3. A terminal connector comprising a tubular housing having a pair of spaced-apart side Walls and spacedapart top and bottom Walls extending therebetween, each of said side walls having at least one conductor-receiving opening closely adjacent said top wall, said one conductor-receiving opening in one of said side walls being aligned transversely of said housing with said one conductor-receiving opening in the other of said side walls to define at least one pair of transversely aligned conductor-receiving openings, said bottom wall being provided with at least one threaded opening which is vertically aligned with said one pair of conductor-receiving openings, and said top wall being provided with at least one downwardly-opening recess which extends transversely of said housing and is aligned with said pair of conductor-receiving openings and intersects at least one of the conductor-receiving openings in said pair, and a threaded member received in said threaded opening and adapted to be advanced against said top wall whereby compression of .a conductor received in said recess is limited by engagement of the threaded member with said top wall adjacent said recess, said recess being narrower than the diameter of said threaded member.

4. A terminal connector in accordance with claim 3 wherein said top and bottom walls have a transverse dimension less than the diameter of said threaded member and wherein said side walls are threaded to accept said threaded member.

5. A terminal connector in accordance with claim 3 wherein said recess is aligned with and intersects both of said conductor-receiving openings.

6. A terminal connector comprising an elongated tubular housing having a pair of spaced-apart, longitudinally-extending side walls and spaced-apart top and bottom walls extending therebetween, each of said side walls having a plurality of longitudinally-spaced,

conductor-receiving openings closely adjacent said top wall, said conductor-receiving openings in one of said side walls being aligned transversely of said housing with said conductor-receiving openings of the other of said side walls, respectively, to define pairs of transversely aligned conductor-receiving openings, said bottom wall being provided with a plurality of longitudinally-spaced, threaded openings, each of said threaded openings being vertically aligned with the axis of one of said pairs of conductor-receiving openings, and said top wall being provided with downwardly-opening recesses which extend transversely of said housing, each of said recesses being aligned with and intersecting at least one of said conductor-receiving openings of a pair, and threaded members received in said threaded openings, respectively, and adapted to be advanced against said top wall whereby compression of conductors received in said recesses, respectively, is limited by engagement of said threaded members said top wall adjacent said recesses, respeetively, each of said recesses being narrower than the diameter of its respective threaded member.

7. A terminal connector in accordance with claim 6 wherein said top and bottom walls have a transverse dimension less than the diameters of said threaded members and wherein said side walls are threaded to accept said threaded members.

8. A terminal connector in accordance with claim 6 wherein said recesses are aligned with and intersect both conductor-receiving openings of a pair.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,453,001 Camp Apr. 24, l923 2,179,753 Mebold Nov. 14, 1939 2,203,337 Mebold June 4, 1940 2,232,857 Jackson Feb. 25, l94l 2,358,745 Stieglitz Sept. 19, 1944 2,434,604 West Jan. 13, 1948 2,727,220 Buchanan et-al Dec. 13, 1955 

